This invention relates to decorative molding installed at a corner formed by the juncture of a ceiling and a vertical wall. Particularly, this invention relates to systems for mounting the molding to the corner.
In the past, various moldings have been provided as disclosed and described, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,302,350, 3,481,092 and 3,616,587. These patents disclose various methods of attaching the molding strip to the corner juncture. However, these methods are undesirable in that the mounting is permanent and/or rigid causing difficulties in modifying decorative features of a house in many applications. For example, in many older homes the surface of the walls and ceilings are uneven due to settling of the house or water damage, for example. Firm and secure attachment of the prior art devices would be difficult due to the fact that the upper and lower surfaces of the molding are rigidly and/or permanently attached to the ceiling and wall. In Brown et al ('350) the walls of the mounting member are rigidly connected to the ceiling and wall by screws. The Constantino ('092) device is attached by applying adhesive to the flat upper and lower edges of the molding. In Schlafly, Jr. ('587) the upper and lower edges of the molding are rigidly attached to the walls by clips. Thus, it can be seen that the rigid mounting of these prior art devices do not allow the molding to conform or adjust to uneven wall surfaces.
In the aforementioned patent applications, there is disclosed a decorative molding strip wherein a thin molding strip of flexible plastic has an upper free edge, lower free edge, a front surface and a back surface. The upper free edge is adapted to lie against the ceiling and flex relative thereto. The lower free edge is adapted to lie against a vertical wall. A plurality of flexible plastic clips are fixed at space points along the thin molding strip along the back surface of the molding strip so that a first end of each clip is attached to the back surface of the molding strip and the free end engages of flexible plastic wall track.
In aforementioned application Ser. No. 08/262,918 filed Jun. 20, 1994, at the juncture of adjacent molding strips, one of the molding strips is provided with a complementary shaped plastic segment spaced from the internal surface of the molding strip to provide a cavity. The other of the molding strips is provided with an axial plastic segment that has a projection of the same configuration adapted to extend into the cavity of an adjacent strip so that adjacent molding strips abut one another with the segment that extends into the cavity of an adjacent strip providing a bridge.
Among the objectives of the present invention are to provide such systems which utilizes novel outside and inside corner constructions; wherein the corners can be readily applied with minimum tools and skills; wherein the resultant system is aesthetically pleasing; and wherein the system is low in cost.